Virtual Desktop Infrastructure

Strategic | Effective | Efficient

What is VDI?

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) or Desktop as a service (DaaS) is the practice of hosting a desktop operating system within a virtual machine (VM) running on a centralised server and can be access by a number of devices wheter in the office or mobile. VDI can provide a flexible, scalable and cost effective solution for organisations whether single site, multiple sites or mobile workers, it allows you to budget as a OpEx rather that CapEx keeping you in control of the IT budget.

Because your virtual desktop is hosted in house or in the cloud it can be managed and secured by KNL, so you can work from anywhere, anytime from any device connected to the internet.

Not only can you and your team access your files from home or on the move, you can also access applications from your virtual desktop, just as if you were sat at your desk in the office. You can allow or restrict folder permissions and times of access for specific users.

Many businesses are benefiting from increased productivity and loyalty by affording staff flexible working arrangements. However, providing staff with secure and reliable access to company data whilst at home or on the move is challenging, requiring employees to “dial in” and office equipment to be left on. KNL provide VDI system's allowing users to access their virtual desktop from any web enabled device with an Internet connection.

Future Proofing IT

By using VDI with subscription based services your organisation can ensure use of the latest software and operating system is deployed in your business, by using software assurance or subscription based services such as Office 365 you can be assured of access to the latest business tools and security afforded by such vendors, reducing the cost of administration and development.

VDI is a shadow copy of the desktop including its OS, installed applications and documents, which are stored and executed entirely from the server hosting it.

VDI provides users the ability to access their desktop remotely, often even from a handheld device because the entire process of executing the interface is done at the central server.

One of the perks of VDI is that you can use it as a disaster recovery tool to recover from virus or other malware incident, reducing the disruption to your business. Not only must businesses relying on virtual desktops make sure that they have backups, but they must also be aware of storage requirements and desktop as a service expectations. When considered as part of a DR plan, VDI can improve centralised management and control in case of a disaster.

Who provides VDI?

KNL provide a number of solutions using the major vendors supplying VDI, all are competent but to know their limitations may help in the correct decision in the first place, also remember that you need operating system as well as appliction licensing when considering VDI, this can make or break a VDI project!

Horizon View*, formerly known simply as "View," is now part of VMware's Horizon line of products for desktop and app virtualization, plus mobility. This VDI software runs on the company's ESXi hypervisor and does not support the others. It natively supports the PC over IP (PCoIP) protocol, which is based on UDP instead of TCP. Administrators manage Horizon View through vCenter and the View Administrator component.

Xendesktop* - The latest version of XenDesktop has been combined with XenApp under the FlexCast Management Architecture. Unlike View, which is confined to one hypervisor, XenDesktop can run on Citrix's own XenServer, VMware ESXi or Microsoft Hyper-V. That's something to take into consideration if you already run one of those hypervisors or you're considering a move.

VDI-in-a-Box* - Most SME customers use cost as a primary factor when choosing VDI software however VDI-in-a-box helps address this part of the business sector.

Citrix VDI-in-a-Box does not come with the rights to run XenServer Enterprise as your hypervisor, but you can run it on the free version of XenServer.

If you need to run applications in XenApp, you must purchase XenApp separately -- making VDI-in-a-Box potentially more expensive than XenDesktop as it comes with a XenApp license.

Device licensing is not an option, making VDI-in-a-Box pricing less cost-effective for environments with many users sharing devices (for instance, manufacturing plants or schools).

* all of these points are subject to vendor changes, always check first.

There are some vendors supplying viable and established alternatives at competitive cost, but feature rich, contact us for more details

Using the Neocoretech tool we can help you to draw up an ROI study by sending you a partially completed document for you to fill in with details of your particular environment. Please use the contact form, below, and we will get in touch.